Pad gripping device

ABSTRACT

A pad gripping device for a hand-held appliance, such as an electric dry shaver, comprising an envelope containing a cushion member and frame member wherein fastening means extend from the frame member outwardly of the envelope for locking engagement with wall portion of the appliance casing and which fasteners in locking position flex the pad to conform to the outer surface of the casing.

United States Patent [191 Szymansky [451 Nov. 18, 1975 PAD GRIPPINGDEVICE [75] lnventor: Edward Szymansky, Fairfield,

Conn.

[73] Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation,

Bridgeport, Conn.

[22] Filed: June 14, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 479,310

[52] US. Cl 220/94 R [51] Int. Cl. B65D 25/28 [58] Field of Search220/94 R; 30/90; 16/110 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,171,567 3/1965 Somers 30/90 X 3,341,887 9/1967 Tolmie 30/90 X PrimaryExaminerWilliam 1. Price Assistant ExaminerSteven M. Pollard Attorney,Agent, or FirmCharles R. Miranda [57] ABSTRACT A pad gripping device fora hand-held appliance, such as an electric dry shaver, comprising anenvelope containing a cushion member and frame member wherein fasteningmeans extend from the frame member outwardly of the envelope for lockingengagement with wall portion of the appliance casing and which fastenersin locking position flex the pad to conform to the outer surface of thecasing.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 Sheet 1 0123,920,148

4 a 4 EIffi9ll!!!"IIII II II IIIIII U.S. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 Sheet 2of2 3,920,148

PAD GRIPPING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto new and useful. improvements in pad gripping devices for hand-heldappliances.

In hand-held electricalappliances such as electric dry shavers the useof pad gripping devices has become increasingly more desirable. Thesepads, certain of which are of the general type shown in US. Pat. Nos.3,171,567 and 3,341,887, usually comprise an envelope containing a softpillow-like inner cushion disposed on a backing member. The pads arearranged on the opposite faces of the appliance and the user grips theappliance in the cup of his hand with his fingers imbeded in the pads. Iv

Pad gripping devices not only increase the esthetic appearance of theappliance but more importantly allow the user to grip the casing in acomfortable manner reducing the risk of the casing slipping from hisgrasp during use. This is quite pertinent in appliances such as anelectric shaver where the appliance is continually moved back and forthacross the users face and where slight vibrations from the motor withinthe casing are transmitted through the walls thereof to the fingers ofthe user.

In prior art devices such as those disclosed in the aforementionedpatents it'has been the usual practice to secure these pad devices byadhesives to the casing wall or alternatively provide metal tabs on thepad device which areadapted to be inserted into openings in the walls ofthe casing and then bent over in securing relationship against the innerwall surfaces thereof. Although these known pad devices have met withconsiderable success, various difflculties have been encountered inuse'and assembly of the pads to the shaver appliance casing..lninstances where the pads are secured by metal tabs additional insulatingmeans are required to cover the tabs as a precautionary measure againstpossible electrical shocks. In other devices where adhesives are used tosecure the pad to the casing the contour of the casing which usuallyrange from flat to slightly convex do not at all times permit properbind- 2 include a flexible metal frameinsert member interposed betweenthe cusion and the backing member. Fastener means are provided on theinsert member operable to interlock the pad envelope to the casing wallsand flex theinsert member to allow the assembled pad to conform closelyto the contour of the outer surface of the casing wall upon which itismounted.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of thedetaileddescription which follows taken together-with the accompanying drawingswherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

I DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the electric d'ry shaver casingand to which casing is attached an embodiment of a pad deviceconstructed according to the present invention; 1

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the electric dry shaver'of FIG. 1with portions of thecasing and the pad device broken away to show theinterior structure of the pad device; i

' FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the parts of the pad devicein exploded relationship; I

FIG. 4 is a front view of the pad device withparts thereof broken awayto show portions of the interior;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5'5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is.an enlarged fragmentary view of the pad mounting fasteners;

FIG. 7 .is a sectional view taken;on the line 77 of FIG. 6; and FIG. 8is a sectional view-taken on theline 8-8 of FIG. -6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawing for a more detaileddescription of the present invention and more particularly to FIGS. 1and.2,:wherein one preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, a padgripping device is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. Paddevices 10 are mounted on opposite faces of an electric ping devicewhich is readily adaptable to rapid manufacturing and assemblyprocedures resulting in a cost saving both in'labor and parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION dry shaver casing 12 and which shaver isgenerally indicated by the reference numeral 14.

Casing 12 is formed of a hard smooth plastic material as for examplenylon, and houses therein a motor (not shown) and means operativethereby for effecting operation of a cutter head assembly 16 in awell-known manner. Casing 12 includes a lowereontainer portion 17 and anupper section 18 commonly referred to as a hair pocket which isremovably mounted over the cutter head assembly 16. The opposite facesof casing 12 are provided with framed recess portions 20 in which aredisposed pad devices 10. In use the shaver 14 is held in the cupped handof the user with the tips of the users fingers embedded in pads 10providing a comfortable gripping area.- As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and 3the surface of the shaver casing is of a generally smooth configurationand pads 10 further aid in preventing accidental slipage of the casingfrom the users grip.

Each pad device 10 includes a generally rectangularshaped base orbacking member 22 and an inner cushion member 24 comprised of a thicklayer of resilient material such as a vinyl foam substance is mounted onbacking or base member 22. A facing or cover member 3 E6 of softmaterial such as flexible vinyl plastic is disposed over cushion 24 andhas peripheral edge portions FIG. 4 secured to the peripheral edges ofbase member 122.

As mentioned it is a feature of this invention to provide novel meansfor mounting pads 10 on casing 12 in conformity with the outer surfaceand in secured relationship thereto. To this end a rectangular metalinsert plate 28 which is slightly convex in shape and of slightly lessperimetrical dimension than backing member 22 is disposed in pad 10interposed between cushion 24 and base 22.

Fastening means for mounting pads 10 on casing 12 lllClUdC a pair ofplastic insulating locking members 30 carried by insert 28 for insertionin spaced apertures 31 in the walls of casing 12. Each fastener 30(FIGS. 7 & 8) comprises a circular base 33, a hub portion 34 and a headportion 35. Locking tabs 36 on head portion 35 project through alignedapertures 38 and 40 respectively provided in base 22 and insert 28.Spaced locking fingers 42 are formed on insert 28 adjacent each aperture40 for engagement in spaced recesses 44 (FIG. 7) on base 22 of fastener30 in manner to be hereinafter explained. ln addition spaced openings 46are provided in insert 28 and corresponding openings 47 in base 22 forreleasing air from pad 10 when pressure is applied to cover 26 by thefingers of the user.

Prior to mounting a pad device 10 on casing 12 fasteners 30 are rotated90 from the position shown in FIG. 6 whereby tabs 36 on head 35 of eachfastener 30 are aligned as shown in FIG. 4 with corresponding apertures31 (FIG. 1) in the face wall of casing 12. In this position fasteners 30may be readily inserted into openings 31. in this position the base 33overlies the locking finger 42 on insert 28. Once fasteners 30 areinserted into casing opening 31 the fasteners may be manually rotatedfrom within the casing by means of an instrument such as suitable pliersby grasping tabs 36 and r tating fasteners 90 to the position shown inFIGS. 1 and 6. In this position fingers 42 on insert 28 lie in recesses44 on base 33 of fasteners 30 and tabs 36 on the head are engagedagainst the inner wall surfaces of lower container 17 of casing 12.Further, tabs 36 are locked to the walls of casing 12, insert 28 isflexed slightly causing pad to conform closely against the outer surfaceof casing 12.

it is apparent from the foregoing that the novel pad member describedhas many advantages. The novel fasteners provides self-insulatingplastic means and the locking action thereof in cooperation withflexible insert provide a pad device which conforms closely to thesurface of the casing without use of adhesive substances or the like.The fastening arrangement allows for increased savings in assembly costin reducing the number of parts and time required in manufacturing formounting the pads to the casing.

Although one embodiment of the pad mentioned has been illustrated anddescribed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto. Various changes can be made in the design andarrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as the same will now be understood by those skilled in theart.

What is claimed is:

1. A pad gripping device adapted to be mounted on the outer surface of ahand-held appliance, said gripping device comprising,

a. a pillow-like pad assembly including a backing member and a resilientcushion disposed on said backing member,

b. means for mounting said pad on the outer surface of the casing of theappliance,

c. a flexible support plate being part of said assembly,

. fastener means associated with said plate and having portionsextending outwardly of said pad assembly adapted for locking engagementwith the appliance casing, said fastener means in said locked positionbeing adapted to flex said support plate to conform said pad to thesurface of the appliance, and

e. said fastener means including at least one locking member having abase portion and a shaft extending outwardly of the pad assembly andhaving tab portions adapted to be rotated into locking engagement withthe shaver casing.

2. The pad gripping device of claim 1 wherein tabs are formed on theends of the shaft for locking engagement with the inner wall surface ofthe appliance casing.

3. The pad gripping device of claim 2 wherein said fastener is formed ofinsulating material to insulate said pad member from said appliance.

4. The pad gripping device of claim 2 wherein said appliance is providedwith a recess framing portion on the outer surface thereof to receivesaid pad assembly, said pad assembly being provided with a plurality ofsaid fasteners, a plurality of openings in said casing and within saidframing portion for receiving said fasteners, and said fasteners in saidlocked position with the inner wall surface of said casing adapted toflex said pad assembly into close contact with the surface of saidcasing within said framing portion.

1. A pad gripping device adapted to be mounted on the outer surface of ahand-held appliance, said gripping device comprising, a. a pillow-likepad assembly including a backing member and a resilient cushion disposedon said backing member, b. means for mounting said pad on the outersurface of the casing of the appliance, c. a flexible support platebeing part of said assembly, d. fastener means associated with saidplate and having portions extending outwardly of said pad assemblyadapted for locking engagement with the appliance casing, said fastenermeans in said locked position being adapted to flex said support plateto conform said pad to the surface of the appliance, and e. saidfastener means including at least one locking member having a baseportion and a shaft extending outwardly of the pad assembly and havingtab portions adapted to be rotated into locking engagement with theshaver casing.
 2. The pad gripping device of claim 1 wherein tabs areformed on the ends of the shaft for locking engagement with the innerwall surface of the appliance casing.
 3. The pad gripping device ofclaim 2 wherein said fastener is formed of insulating material toinsulate said pad member from said appliance.
 4. The pad gripping deviceof claim 2 wherein said appliance is provided with a recess framingportion on the outer surface thereof to receive said pad assembly, saidpad assembly being provided with a plurality of said faSteners, aplurality of openings in said casing and within said framing portion forreceiving said fasteners, and said fasteners in said locked positionwith the inner wall surface of said casing adapted to flex said padassembly into close contact with the surface of said casing within saidframing portion.